Clemson

Well, that was easy. I love it when the game is never in doubt.

For the first time, all of us wearing King Louis XVI colors finally understand what it feels like to parade around in garish green and orange. There is no other historical comparison possible. Our ugly rivals from South Florida made a habit of getting absolutely curb stomped for much of the game only to break our hearts late after a serious period of self flagellation. We wandered post game back to our hovels like a just-turned-21 year old at 2 a.m., rolling ridiculous stats and situations in our head from the carnage just witnessed while barely avoiding oncoming vehicles. Nothing will change Skippy...they won. Well, our Upstate SC brethren just got to live our nightmare. Wow, can we relate...

How about this scenario? A fourth string backup QB who was never meant to take a meaningful snap at FSU is the star of the show as #2 & #3 are toiling in Tuscaloosa and Coal Country. The best player on offense is unavailable, and the best player on defense is knocked silly and has to sit at halftime. Our offensive line and the aforementioned Bambi on County Rd 29 had four false starts and 5 sacks. For much of the game we were not just being outgained, but thanks to a suddenly accurate Doak scoreboard, were getting tripled up in yardage. When the MVP of the first half is undoubtedly Cason Beatty, you have to like the Tigers chances.

Yup, never in doubt. Tease em, tease em, tease em…then rip their heart out Indiana Jones style and watch it beat to a stop while you smile and wish them in your most syrupy southern drawl a safe trip back to Death Valley (Hey y'all, watch out for them cops in Valdosta sugar, bless your heart…").

Before we dissect the excellence that was our offense, let's throw a little love at the other side of the ball. Eddie Goldman and Nate Andrews were unbelievable on Saturday night. Hell, how about the "offsides" call on the goal line. Not only was #90 not offsides as film will vindicate, he ripped forward so fast that he blew up the center before the ball was even out of his hands. Result - a thoroughly intimidated center and a snap that sailed like Christopher Cross back to the 24 yard line. He made more plays without ever touching the ballcarrier than any lineman I can recall. Nate Andrews is simply a playmaker. This lightly recruited kid from backwoods Alabama is a star. Like a hammer hitting pudding, opponents tend to get redirected when he arrives on the scene. He came a fingertip from a huge pick and it is not a coincidence that the only Tiger turnover was caused by Goldman and snatched up by Nate.

I know that the pass rush badly misses Eligwe and Matthew Thomas, but Casher and Walker did their job and are growing up right in front of us. Although we need to give some credit to some incredible grabs by the other guys, Darby and PJ did a helluva job on the back end. My biggest ongoing disappointment was Tyler Hunter. He tackles like a teenage girl training as a rodeo clown, and twice this game a deep ball was floating toward him and instead of  - hell I don't know - knocking it down…he chose to lower his head and whiff a hit at the WR. Northrup and Terrence Smith were terrific in run support (and why not when Eddie is occupying their entire line), but were Peter Pan's assistants when the ball was in the air. This squad just struggles in zone, and our DC needs to find a third down combination that will allow us to mix coverages or else running QB's are going to tear us apart when the rush breaks down.  Overall though, this is the first time we have sniffed a NC looking defense in 2014, and we should have a month to build some depth before the next potential train derailment presents itself.

No way to sugarcoat it, this spectacularly experienced line was a mess, and it starts in the middle. Yes, Cam had two matador blocks, but Vic Beasley is going to make a lot of Sunday money soon, and the truth is Erving handled him for 95% of the game one on one. The Tigers have one of the best front sevens in the country this year (all seniors thank god), so struggling against this group is not a crime against humanity. That being said, we have go to find a solution at center. The inexperience at tailback is also a huge factor. These kids would have trouble cutting in Pre-K with thick thumb scissors, so finding the right hole has been straight up impossible at times. Los also almost got his young QB killed on an obvious corner blitz that he failed to pick up. Speaking of McGuire, the boy is a weeble. He got absolutely obliterated after some throws, and just kept popping up. They make em tough in Jersey. And oh yeah, #80 and #35 are pretty damn good. Throwing to them is not an awful idea...

On to the ubiquitious. My view on our sweatpants wearing QB. He is a goofball. He is immature, and he has up til now not figured out that being the center of attention to his friends is not more important than tearing down the image of a program. Hey, I live in a house with drywall, not glass. Everything he has done "wrong" in the last two years was a random Wednesday for me at FSU. But, I was not the reigning Heisman winner of a National Championship team, and (thank Zeus) there were not cameras all around to capture my every transgression. He will figure it out or he won't. I am betting on him. But this story needs to go away. He is dressed out...he is on the sideline...Puhlease. Yes, and yes. Bobo was suspended for the first game and traveled, then dressed out and was on the sideline. Not a word. Jameis was huge on the sidelines this week, and thanks the absolutely ridiculous ABC coverage, we saw what a team guy he actually is. If that leadership, positive energy and unbridled joy you witnessed is reticent of a troubled kid, then give me 85 of them and see if we can't win.

Finally a nod to the advantage that Doak delivered this week. Folks, we don't win this game away from home. If we thought Sean was a little nervy at home, he would be Jason-just-ate-Chucky-and-is coming-after-you scared if this was played at Death Valley. The students chanting his name pregame AND again in the fourth quarter had to be huge for this kid. Clemson was taking at least 10 additional seconds to get every play in while the QB whispered sweet nothings to his lineman because they simply could not communicate with the noise. Granted, far and away the biggest roar of the first half was for the first solid punt from Cason Beatty in two years, but this crowd was in it - and there were times when lesser groups of Nole fans would have punted - pun intended.

Now we enter the easiest stretch of our schedule with NC State, Wake and Syracuse on tap. Let's get better and stay out of the news!